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Peter Donegan, Show Garden – Pour L’amour de Jeux

bloom in the parkPour L’amour de Jeux. Garden for Bloom 2008.

Created from a 1957 crashed and damaged pleasure cruise boat that measured 33 foot long that was due to be smashed and dumped; the boat was by hand brought back to something a little more respectable for Pour L’amour de Juex (For a Love of The Game), a 20 metre by 10 metre show garden designed by Peter Donegan.

The garden also featured La Principessa e La Rana (The Princess and The Frog), a sculpt by Paddy Campbell, a part of a marina that was also set for the landfill but saved, sanded and respectfully relaid and a painting, intentionally unfinished and unsigned by the artist.

Whilst all elements of the garden were positioned in new gardens designed by Peter Donegan post Bloom in the Park, the main feature of the garden was taken by Electric Picnic Music Festival and placed opposite the Main Stage.

You may also like this.

And this….

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Bloom 2007 – The Morris Minor Garden

donegan gardens bloom (2)

No Rubber Soul. Silver Medal Winner. My Garden for Bloom 2007.

I love this garden. I really do. I had no sponsor. I was advised not to do it. Nobody knew what Bloom was really and although I had won awards for garden design and landscaping, this was my first *show* garden. I don’t even think I knew what a weblog was when I did this garden so there really doesn’t exist that many photographs of  ‘No rubber- soul’ the garden. For some reason or another it became know as the Car-Den. Enjoy!

Peter Donegans garden design ‘No Rubber- Soul’ won silver in the large garden category in the inaugural year of Bloom in the Phoenix Park Friday 1st June 2007. During the 20 day deadline over 1,500 plants; 50 square metres of rolled lawn; 4 tonne of recycled compost; 5 tonnes of recycled bark chippings; 6 tonnes of recycled tree stumps one 1965 morris minor and an outdoor flat screen television.

Despite the rainfall over the bank holiday weekend over 50,000 people still flocked to see the unsponsored garden. No decking, no paving, no additives or preservatives…. Imagine sitting within two thirds of a 1965 Morris Minor, watching the television, smokes plumes through the front grill of your car and you sit back and watch nature and plant life grow around you. This is the garden that has no rubber but lots of soul. Built from 100% recycled and/ or recyclable products. Take a trip back to 1965 when men used shovels and gardens had soul.

Built to commemorate the many Irish men with initially, great intentions who promise to restore and rebuild projects but sometimes are never fully completed; it has been slightly adapted to via audio visual equipment to become an entertainment area of sorts and it should give the appearance that whilst unwillingly forgotten, the life of the garden continued to flourish around it.

….and of course there was this. genius.

Also:

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for a love of the game – the thank you so much list bloom 2008 [11]

peter donegan landscaping ltd

Tully Nurseries Ltd. – master plant grower

Deidre Breathnach – wexfords very own Da Vinci

Maura Hickey – the finest photographer in Ireland

B.D.F Commercials Ltd – suppliers of products from my imagination and storage

D.B. Painters – decoration and painting

Patrick Campbell (& Veronica) – sculptor of all things

Gormleys Fine Art – beautiful

Atfar Construction – civil engineers, usually builders and genuine nice guys

Fingal Farm Home & Garden – marina builders and creators of all things timber

Rockworld – messiahs of the water world

Noel O’Dwyer – boat restoration and a gentleman from Hollywood, Co. Wicklow

Whittens Road Haulage – they said it couldn’t be moved

Enrich Environmental – composts and mulches not from a bog

Summerhill Lawns – the finest grass in Ireland

Allscape Centre – just when I needed you

Susan and Jessica Fagan – our beautiful models

Damien Mulley, Rick O’Shea & Aido at Segala – web wizards and genuine nice guys

The irish video team – absolute genius cinematography

the staff, our family, friends and clients of Peter Donegan Landscaping Ltd

and of course to all of YOU who took the time to visit our garden & say hello… I just hope we made you smile!

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giving berth to pour l’amour de jeux – bloom 2008 [8]

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This morning at 5.45 am after 11 long hours labour, Pour L’amour de Jeux finally gave berth to a 7 tonne, 11 metre long Pink Boat in the Phoenix Park Dublin.

With amazing help from John Farrell, John Friel, Whittens Road Haulage, The Garda Suíochana, Maura Hickey, Colin Browne and Gráinne Walker; this journey was finally made possible. If I have left anybody out it is because none of us have slept since finishing loading at 12.30am and arriving back to depart at 3.30am!! But it must be known the real journey started a long time ago.

…and so what started as a child like dream has been given berth and here another story begins. Today, some laughed, some smiled and some pondered; But whatever this story [ultimately the garden], brings to you, it was built only pour l’amour de jeux [for a love of the game] and no matter the size of your smile when you see it complete – this amazing journey if nothing else, has left me in no doubt regarding the amazing people and the genius minds I work and spend so much time with. Thank you all [it’s not over just yet], but it’s certainly a little easier….

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bloom 2008 [2] – the boat

pour l'amour de jeux - the boat garden
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yesterday was not the most usual of days in my horticultural career! This 1957, 33 foot, 7 tonne boat is the model Royal Cruiser IV that will be used in Bloom 2008, the garden show extravaganza in the Phoenix Park this June Bank Holiday weekend.

It took 7 men, a 30 tonne specialist marine transporter and 6 hours to lift and move it 6 km. Working with me on the boat will be John Friel and his team who also who rebuilt the morris minor for last years garden.

we got a lot of strange looks when word went out that this was the boat for our show garden but.. maybe ‘show’ gardens should be just that….

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